Shadow and Flame with Magik

Writer Mark Millar

Penciler Steve McNiven

Inker Dexter Vines
Mark Morales (Pages 15 & 16)

Colorist Morry Hollowell
Justin Ponsor (Pages 15 & 16)

Letterer VC’s Cory Petit

Old Man Logan, Part Five of Eight

Cover Dated February 2009

This is the only chapter of this famous story, as it is the big reveal of why Old Man Logan quit being Wolverine.

Here is what happened before.  50 years ago, the villains won and America was divided.  The Wolverine is dead, his claws haven’t been popped, since that eventful day.  Logan has been leaving in Sacramento, with his wife and family.

May I say, that I’m a huge sucker for fictional maps?  I love just looking at them, at the landmarks that the map maker deems important.  Then I look at where Yuma, Arizona is – here it is in the Kingdom of the Kingpin (formerly the Domain of Magneto).  The names of cities hold so much potential story and history.  Montana falls in the vast unclaimed area, the Wastleland, I believe they call it in this title.

Logan was living in Hulkland.  To the right of the Wasteland, is Doom’s Lair, next is Clyde’s Pit and lastly, is The President’s Quarter.  Certain villains have cities, along the path that Logan is now taking.

I’m getting ahead of the recap.  Logan is a farmer, and the grandchildren of the Hulk, want Logan’s rent but he is pretty behind.

Clint Barton, the now blind archer – wants his old friend to cross the country with him.  Logan agrees, as long as he doesn’t have to get involved with any violence.  They are heading to New Babylon, which is in The President’s Quarter.  What is in the package, that Clint has to deliver, is another mystery of the storyline.

They have met Moloids and clone tyrannosaurs, they are currently being stalked by the venom symbiote.  At the end of last issue, Logan agrees to tell Clint what happened that day.

Now we are at this issue.

Back in the day, most likely a Tuesday – Jubilee tells Wolverine that every hero team is sending out a distress signal.  The villains are rising up.  There is a huge explosion, and it is on!

There is an ad for the Honda Fit, it breaks up my comic and this review.

Now, we get to the panel that got me to buy the issue.  That brunette, in the third panel – telling everyone to get to the evacuation tunnels, that has to be Kitty Pryde, right?  It is her or X23 but I say, X23 would be popping her claws and heading towards the attack.  Kitty would hang back, and make sure the students were okay.  There are not that many brunette X-Women, and not that many with a modest breast size.  Sorry but in a world of Double Ds and larger, normal breasts stand out.

Marvel Database use to list Shadowcat, as being in the issue but I imagine now they don’t list either lady, as there is no way to prove which one it is.  Unless Millar and McNiven have revealed the script for the issue or have been asked.  I say it is Kitty and thus, I own this issue.

There is another panel, that she could be in, later but we’ll get to that one.

comicbookdb has Shadowcat listed for the issue, so they are with me, on this.

http://comicbookdb.com/issue.php?ID=157230

http://marvel.wikia.com/wiki/Wolverine_Vol_3_70

Wolverine starts to defend the Mansion, by himself.  One would think that the other X-Men will eventually step up.  He’s taking the charge, by himself.

Wolverine kills Doctor Octopus and Klaw, so fast.  Too fast!  Next is Stryfe!

Then it is these two no names.  Is that suppose to be Demogoblin?

Wolverine slices Silver Samurai’s head, clear off!

After that, he starts asking where everybody is.

Two students are not sure and Wolverine tells them to get the heck out!

Wolverine then, somehow, slashes Blob but he is so focused on murder, that nothing is sinking in.

Sabretooth and Mister Sinister enter the fray and Wolverine punches Sinister to his face!  Has that ever worked, to the extent that blood comes out of his face?

Sabretooth and Lady Deathstrike go down.  As do Omega Red, Absorbing Man and Scorpion.  Shocker even tries to do it. as if Wolverine would be easier to kill now that he has killed thirteen other villains.

So great that McNiven got to draw this assortment of villains.  When would he be able to draw Scorpion or Shocker, before this?

There is a double page ad for Spider-Man : Web of Shadows, a game I wanted to play, when it came out.  I recall it didn’t get great reviews.

The only villain to really put up a fight, is the last one – Bullseye!  They fight for 90 minutes, taking pieces out of each other.

Wolverine straight up thrusts his claws through Bullseye’s chest.

I’m not sure if what is making all of this is possible, was just wearing off or if it was due to Bullseye being the last, but the fog starts to lift over Wolverine’s eyes.  Bullseye calls Wolverine, friend, and this startles Wolverine.

Wolverine is holding Jubilee’s body!  She was Bullseye!  How she was able to withstand a 90 minute fight with Wolverine, is beyond me – much less take chunks out of him.  OR! Even being able to survive one slash of his claws.

Turns out, the villains big plan to take the X-Men off the board, was to get the big ol’ dumb Wolverine to do it for them!

I like Mysterio, who is clearly a hologram – giving Wolverine shit for thinking that he could have taken out all of these named villains.

I’m surprised no one has ever had Wolverine face off with Mysterio, after this issue came out – but Mysterio has been off the board, for a while now.  Last I read him, he was involved in Spider-Men, as Mysterio was also, Ultimate Mysterio!

Wolverine straight up murdered these X-Men!  Gambit, Iceman, Havok (who was Stryfe, as he has no head!).  Colossus, with who I thought was Shadowcat – on his chest but that is clearly Psylocke with her costume (butt sticking out, and all) and the purple tint to her hair.  Cannonball, Storm, Longshot, Beast, Cyclops, Nightcrawler, Polaris and even Forge is dead!

We cut to the present and Clint is being a good guy, not judging Old Man Logan for something he is clearly still broken by and it was fifty years ago.

Mysterio was so good that he could even affect the way Wolverine’s senses worked.

After Wolverine killed the X-Men, Logan walked away and kept on walking, for weeks, maybe even months.  Logan decided to kill Wolverine, so he put his head on a railroad track and let a train run it over.  He survived as, of course he did.

There is a hint of what happened to the other heroes, there was a giant battle in Vegas where the heroes fought the villains – and clearly lost.

There is an ad for Bendis / Deodato’s Dark Avengers, a pretty great title in a fun era of Marvel Comics.  I only read issue eight, which was written by Fraction and what part of the Utopia crossover.  Luke Ross was the penciler, so I don’t even own any issues with the main creative team.

Old Man Logan uses this story to emphasis why he doesn’t want to be a fighter, he uses his hands as a farmer.

Dwight’s Toll.  I really like the choice to have a light page, after the bulk of this issue being so heavy on death.  Dwight is a teenager (or maybe a twelve year old boy) who has an Ant-Man helmet.  The kid only wants people to pay him eighty cents, to cross the bridge.  For those who don’t pay – and many don’t, as we can tell from the view from below the bridge – get killed by a million ants.  I do like the idea of this kid, knowing he has picked a silly amount for a toll so he gets to get his fair share of stupid kills but for those who know him (like Clint) they know to take the toll very seriously.

Doom’s Head, Illinois.  Clint apologizes to Old Man Logan, for bringing him on this trip, where hazards are everywhere.

Issue ends with a giant T-Rex, with the Anti-Venom symbiote.

What an intense issue!